New CJCSC Pakistan General Zubair Mahmood Hayat Profile

RAWALPINDI: After a week of sensation, Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif finally announced names of Lieutenant Gen Zubair Mahmood Hayat as new Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee (CJCSC) and Lt is General Qamar Javed Bajwa as the news Chief of Army Staff (COAS) on Saturday.

Newly appoint Chief General Qamar Bajwa is the 16th Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and the 5th to be appointed by Nawaz Sharif.

– General Zubair Mahmood Hayat Profile –

General Zubair Hayat is currently the senior most General in Pakistan Army. He is from the artillery and the serving Chief of General Staff (CGS).

Graduated from Command and Staff College Camberley, United Kingdom, and National Defence University, Islamabad, General Zubair Hayat has served on key posts throughout his career.

He was previously posted as director general of the Strategic Plans Division (SPD), which is the secretariat of the NCA; and corps commander Bahawalpur.

This makes him an ideal choice for the post of CJCSC, who has an almost exclusive jurisdiction over nuclear forces and assets.

Gen Zubair is a second generation officer. His father retired as a major general.

Lt-Gen Zubair Hayat has also served for the safety and security of the country’s nuclear programme.

His postings as CGS and DG SPD afforded him an opportunity to work very closely with PM Sharif and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.

During his tenure as a major general, he was general officer commanding (GOC) Sialkot and later headed the Staff Duties (SD) Directorate, whose personnel are commonly known in the army as ‘paper tigers’. His stay at the directorate and his earlier posting as principal staff officer to the army chief brought him closer to Gen Kayani, and he is generally seen as Gen Kayani’s protégé.

Some of those who worked with him describe him as “workaholic” and a “vociferous reader”. He is also said to have a very sharp memory.